Grass trimmer



June 16, 1931. L. D. ALBERTsoN GRASS TRIMMER Filed Dec. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l JNVENTOR. u n/ERQM Bf/Wow v June 16, 1931 L.. D. ALBERTSN 1,810,587

GRAS S TRIMMER Fled-Dec. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q4 l 41 E 9 f, el

W/r/vess INVENTOR.

Patented June 16, 1931 yDuri-nana D. 4AL-BEETSON, OE OOEYDON, immane, Ass-remonor` ONE-FOURTH 'ro' JOHN W. DAVIDSON, ONE-FOURTH To EMMETT DEANBLOssoM, ONE-FOURTH rro ALBERT STOVER, ONE-SIXTEENTH 'ro GEORGE O. srivrLEErv THREE ,rHIrETY-sEOoNDs To oDrvEEW. HOTTEL, AND THREE THIEmY-ISEOONDS :no OEOIL W. MILES, ALL OE CORYDON, INDIANA y Gia-Ass 'rEnvnvrEEV Amni'eation,fried. December s, 192s.A serial Recargas..

Thisinvention appervtaIlSv` deVfCeS T trimming hedges, the borders of lawns, and the like, and has'for'one of its primary objects the provision of a light portable hand implement which canbe successfully used lboth for the purpose of trimming edges or borders ofy lawns and for trimming hedges 'andl which embodies a reciprocating 'cutter barand novel means for operating said4 bar either by hand or by the moving of thecutter over the edge of the l'awn t0 be trimmed. f

Another rsalient featureV of the invention is lthe provision of'novel means. for 'supporting the operative parts ofthe cutterfromasingle frame casting, said' operative parts embodying a single drive Shaftv with means yfor operating the shaft either byhand or from a i .ground wheel.

" A further object'iof the invention ,is-.the

provision of means.` for yassociating detachable handlesrrwith the frame casting where- -byv'either a yshort yhandle can b'eassociated with the framewhen the device is. being used kfor trimming hedges or a long handle can be associated with the edges of lawns., s. A y y A further object of the* inventionis the provisionof a novel cutter bar with novel means for supporting `the cutterbar and a novelAk mechanism` y for bar. Y f Y f A still further object of the invention is to frame when trimming the provider` a hedge trimmer andI a'v lawn border trimmer of the above character, whichl will -be durable and efficient in use, one that iwill Abesimple andeasy to manufacture, and one which can beplacedfupon' the market atja -reasonable cost. f

With these and other objects in' view, the inventionA consists 'in the novel construction,

arrangement and formation ofparts, as will drawings, in which: drawings tion of the arrows. s

operating saidl cutter v Figure 1 is a top plan View of the infiproved cutter. s p

n Figure 2 isa vertical sectiontaken' on the line 2 2 of FigureV 1 looking .inthe direction vof the arrows. .i f Figure 3' is a s'iideelevationof the improved cutter showing the hedge trimming handle associated therewith and the crank for' actuatingthe op.eratingl mechanism Vby hand.

v Figure .l5-ijs a vertical section taken onthe line 4 4 of Figure '1 lookingV in the direc- Figure 5l is aYV 'horizontal sectional V'view through the cutter' barilor guide for the re.- ciprocating knife,and s Figure 6 is a bottom plan vview ofthe cutter knife i i i l Referring nowy to the drawings' in' detail, wherein similar reference ,characters designate correspondingparts throughout the several views", the-letter' 'A generally indicates the'V improvedfcombined hedge trimmer and lawuborder cutter which comprises a main frame .castingv 10 ,hai'fin'g` ab'earing 11- On the lower end 'thereof for rotatably supporting the main drive shaft 132.v Theupper end of the main frame casting isprov-ided with a lateraleXtensi'on 13", which supportsa vertical bea-ring llfor-,the vertical'l operating shaft' 1,5." yThe castinglO may have secured to thebearing 14' orrformedv thereon a depending frame bar116 for rsupporting; thecutter guard and guide/ 1 7 for the reciprocating Vknife bar 18.' By referring to Figures 1,2

and 4;', it is to' b'e'noted that the `frame bar 16 is provided with lateral extension 19 for strengthening said frame bar and .for also forming additional-,means for supportin the cutter guardandguide 1 7, which wi l be hereinafter vmore" specifically described.

The driveshaft"` I2` .inthe nature of a` stub shaftk andlhasleyed-or otherwise-secured v p theretothe ground wheel 20thelperiphery `of which can be serrated or provided with teeth 21, so as to insure the proper traction of the wheel when the device is moved over the ground. This ground wheel 2O has the annular row of gear teeth 22 projecting from one face thereof and thus this gear is in the nature Vof a crown gear and the teeth 22 have meshing therewith a beveled pinion 23, which is keyed or otherwise secured to the vertical shaft 15. The shaft formsthe means for driving the reciprocating knifepbar 18 and the lower end of this shaft has secured thereto an operating crank 24. A Y

Secured to the side face' of the frame bar l16adjacent to the upper end thereof is a socket for receiving the shank 26 of a manipulating handle 27. The inner end of the shank 26 of the manipulating handle 27 j is preferably of polygonal shape incross section to conform to the cross section configuration of the socket 25 and the shank is held against accidental displacement by the use of a thumb .screw 28. The handle 27 in the present instance is of a relatively small size'so as to permit the use of the implement for trimming hedges and the like and this handle curves rearwardly and downwardly from the shank as clearly shownin Figure 3 of the drawings.

` It is to be understood that the handle 27 can be readily removed from the cutting device and a relatively long handle associated therewith, so as to permit the device to be conveniently moved over the ground for the trimming of the borders of lawns.A

Referring to the cutter guard 17, it is to be noted that the same forms a substantially closed housing for the cutter knife'orbar 18 and this cutterguard 17 includes upper and lower plate sections 29 and 30 which can be joined at their rear edges by a suitable rear wall 31. The forward edges of the plates can be secured together and provided with V- shaped notches 32 for forming guard teeth 33. Referring more particularly to Figure 1, it can be seen that the top plate 29 adjacent to its inner end is cut away as at 34for a purpose which will be later described. The guard 17 projects laterally from the, frame bar 16 and the handle 27 extends rearwardly therefrom.

The cutter knife or bar 18 includes a back plate 35 having forwardly projecting V- shaped cutting teeth 36 theedges of which are sharpened forro-action with the guard teeth 33 so as to bring about the successful cutting of the-grass or hedge as the case may be. Y

The back plate 3,5 can be folded back upon itself to provide a strengthening rib 37 and the forward edge of this rib 37is adapted to slidably engage a guide bar 38 carried by the lower wall 30 and this guide bar 38 forms an efhcient means for guiding' the cutting blade during its reciprocation, it being noted at this point that the V-shaped cutter teeth 36 ride between the cutter guard teeth 33. The inner end of the backplate 35 of the cutter knife 18 is provided with an upstanding pin 39 and the crank 24 is connected to the pin 39 byl the use of a pitman 40.

The pitman 40 preferably includes a pair of companion sections 41 having the opposite ends provided with jaws 42 for gripping engagement with the crank and pin 39 and these jaws are maintained in engagement with the crank and pin 39 by the use of a suitable nut and bolt 43.

AsY stated the actuating shaft 15 can be driven from the ground wheel 2O when the udevice is moved over a lawn and means is provided for driving this wheel by hand when the device is being used for trimming hedges and this means includes a hand crank 44 which is slipped over the polygonal end of the drive shaft 12. The crank can be held in place by a thumb screw 45 or the like so that the crank will be prevented from displacement during the manipulation thereof.

When the device is being used for trimming hedges the short handle is used and the'handle is held in the left hand of the operator and the crank is turned by the right hand. The cutter bar and guard is now moved over the hedge. Upon the turning of the crank 44 the cutter bar 18 will be reciprocated thus bringing about the cutting action and the trimming of the hedge.

When it is desired to use the device for trimming the borders of lawns a relatively long handle is associated with the socket 25 and the hand crank 44 can be removed if desired. The cutter guard bar is placed on the lawn border with the ground wheel in engagement with the ground after which the device is pushed over the lawn and the rotation of the ground wheel will bring about the reciprocation of the cutter knife and the consequent trimming of the lawn.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that 1 have provided an exceptionally simple and durable hedge and lawn border trimmer which is of a light portable character and which can be conveniently manipulated by the user thereof. c

Changes in details may be made without` departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, but what I claim as new is 1. A combined lawn border and hedge trimmer comprising a supporting'frame, a cutter bar, a drive stub shaft rotatably carried by the frame, a ground traction wheel secured to said shaft, a crown gear formed on one face of said traction wheel, a vertical actuating shaft rotatably carried by said frame, a pinion keyed to said actuating shaft cooperating with the crown gear, and a crank and pitman connection between said actuating shaft and cutter bar.

2. A combined lawn border and hedge trimmer comprising a supporting frame, a

cutter guard, a reciprocating knife bar car-y ried by the cutter guard, a ground traction wheel, means for actuating the Cutter bar lfrom said ground traction wheel, a handle detachably connected to the frame, said cutter guard including top and bottom plates, a rear wall connecting the rear edges of said plates together, the forward edges of said plate being secured together, inwardly directed V- shaped notches defining guard teeth, said knife bar being received between the top andV bottom plates which form a complete housing therefor.

lIn testimony whereof I affix my signature.V l5 LUTHER D. ALBERTSON. 

